Establishment of an anti-contracture full-thickness excision skin wound model in rats

Objective To establish a model of anti-contracture full-thickness excision skin wound in rats. Method Sixteen SD rats were randomly divided into model group and control group. Under anesthesia, a piece of full-thickness skin of 3.0 cm×3.3 cm was removed from the dorsum of each rat, thus forming the wound with full-thickness skin defect. The skin graft was made into part-thickness. One steel wire frame was sutured with the wound margin skin in model group, but not in control group. All the wounds covered with allograft. The wound contraction rates were observed at 7,14 and 21 days post-operation, respectively. Results The survival rates of the allografts were both 100% in two group. The wound contraction ratio decreased significantly at 7, 14 and 21 days post-operation in model group(1.3±0.5)%,(1.9±0.9)%,(2.6±1.3)% than those of control group(8.6±1.2)%,(37.4±2.6)%,(65.0±3.7)%(t=15.911,36.581,44.847,P0.01). Conclusion Using steel wire frame could effectively prevent full thickness skin defective wound contracture, and this approach is convenient and practical.